Thank you to Minute Maid and Socialstarts for sponsoring this #doingood #minutemaid campaign.
Lately I’ve been struggling with parenting my children. I wonder if I’m doing things right or if I’m making things worse. It’s hard at every stage of parenting. From the time they are born, you worry about spoiling them by holding them too much (which I don’t think you can do!) to not providing enough boundaries when they are toddlers, and to instilling good values into them in the elementary years – which I’m in now. I know that there will be other struggles from now until – well…forever. But, I’m doing my best and #doingood right now.
I have 3 kids ages; 3,7 and 9; and each of them comes with their own some really good things and some real challenges.
My 9 year old is the sweetest girl. She is strong, loves dogs, loves to play school and is all girl. She loves also loves her sibings, but likes to be the big sister who controls and takes over (I have no idea where she gets that! ha!). At times it’s a real struggle with me to teach her how to be kind and let me be the mother. But, I also love that she really does mean well – she just needs a little push in the right direction from time to time.
My 7 year old is ALL boy! He loves to run, jump, play, throw balls, bounce balls, roll balls and really do anything that has to do with a ball. haha! He is a ball of energy and I’m told that’s how most boys this age are. The good thing is that he is not like that at school, so I am thankful for that. But he goes non stop when he’s home from the time he walks in the door until bedtime. Somebody tell me how to bottle that energy up! Of course, he can’t wing balls around in the house so I am always correcting him. Sometimes I feel like all I do is say “stop. don’t. stop. don’t.” It makes me a little crazy at times but I’m thankful he has found something he loves so much and is healthy and active.
Then there is our baby, Sydney, who is 3. She is the sweetest little thing but is definitely a mixture of her brother and sister. Which is pretty fitting! haha! She is a ball of energy who likes things her way. She can get a little sassy at times, but is mostly a sweetie. I want her to be independant, which she is great at, and I want her to be active, but not in a crazy way. Who’s with me on this?! It’s a struggle to find the right balance.
Parenting is hard. It really is. Some of the time we get it right but most of the time we’re learning. I’m doing my best daily. I’m not always the most patient mom in the world, I don’t like to play on the floor and I don’t like to run around from playdate to playdate and I don’t spend a ton of money on the latest toys – but that doesn’t make me a bad mom. It makes me the mom that I was meant to be to the 3 little blessings I’ve been entrusted to. It means I’m #doingood – the best that I can and that’s okay! It’s okay for you to be the best you can be and it means that you’re #doingood, too!
Make sure to be an encourager to someone today that needs it – if you see a mom with a toddler melting down, give them a smile. If you see a mom struggling with 3 kids while trying to checkout at the store, offer a hand or a word of encouragement. We all need it and we all need to be reminded that we’re #doingood!
